Senator Recommends Gay Marriage as a Publicity Stunt

Democratic New York Senator Ruben Diaz continues to belittle the fight for marriage equality as something as contemptible as his own profession: politics.

In a statement released in support of evangelical minister Erick Salgado to become the next mayor of NYC, Diaz sardonically insinuates that the reason Salgado is a long-shot bid is because he is not promoting himself with the latest, lurid fad -- being gay.

Diaz begins his statement by saying that Salgado is an exemplary candidate because he is a Christian believer.

"You should know that Erick Salgado is the President of the Council of Youth Christian Churches. He is the pastor of a vibrant church with more than 1,000 members," he says.

He continues by saying the only thing wrong with Salgado is that he is unknown and doesn’t have the funds to be a top dog.

"Salgado’s problem, now, is how to raise millions of dollars to allow him to pay for radio, TV and newspaper advertising in order to compete with the other candidates’ millions - and to let New York City voters learn more about his platform and agenda for the city."

Salgado has raised less than $200,000.

Diaz suggest that Salgado would improve his name recognition and "get millions and millions of dollars in free publicity," if he "declare[s] that he is a homosexual."

The senator expounds that Salgado should "go to the City Hall Clerk, get a license, marry another man in a public garden, and become the very first male New York City mayoral candidate who is officially married to a man."

Diaz further suggests that gay marriage is a mere publicity stunt by saying, "Politicians are ingenious about new and different ways to get millions of dollars worth of free publicity... Salgado could take some photos of himself in his underwear and tweet them to different young women, lie about it, and then accuse someone of tampering with his Twitter account... Or, Salgado could hire the service of a prostitute, cross state lines."

Diaz, a reverend, uses absurd and sensational statements to suggest that everyone except Salgado is using sensationalism to garner votes. Since Salgado is apparently above this, Diaz says, "Erick Salgado will have to continue scratching the surface for pennies and hope that the media will cover him."

Some of Diaz’s remarks are probably in reference to Christine Quinn, a Democrat who is currently the speaker of the New York City Council. Quinn, a lesbian, is also running for mayor of NYC and is currently a frontrunner, with several experts and pundits pegging her to be the next mayor of NYC.

Forty gay couples in South Dakota applied to be married during the first month following a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized such unions across the country, according to data provided by the state Department of Health.